Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Street Trading

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofthe adequacy oflegislation regulating street trading in England.

lord henley: The rules relating to the licensing of street traders give local authorities the discretion to decide how to regulate street trading in their own area. The Government does not issue guidance to local authorities on this matter. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not currently have plans to assess or amend this legislation.

Street Trading

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any,they are taking to support and increase street trading.

lord henley: The Government supports entrepreneurs and vibrant town centres by promoting local markets, for instance through the successful Love Your Local Market campaign and Small Business Saturday. Officials in the Department for Communities and Local Government chair the Retail Markets Forum to facilitate discussion with experts from across the markets industry and help understand how best to support it. The rules relating to the licensing of street traders gives local authorities the discretion to decide how to regulate street trading in their own area. This includes decisions such as where street trading can take place and overseeing the licence application process.

Digital Technology: Job Creation

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byLord Henley on 15 November (HL Deb, col 2018), on the basis of what data source they anticipate that there will be a net increase in jobs as a result of the fourth industrial revolution.

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byLord Henley on 15 November (HL Deb, col 2018), at what rate new jobs will be created as a result of the fourth industrial revolution; within what timescale; and what is the source of that data.

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byLord Henley on 15 November (HL Deb, col 2018), what will be the median salary of new jobs created by the fourth industrial revolution; and what is the source of that data.

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byLord Henley on 15 November (HL Deb, col 2018), what calculations or modelling they have undertaken to reach the conclusion that the fourth industrial revolution will not increase inequality; and whether they will publish any relevant findings.

lord henley: In the debate of 15 November I spoke about the recently published Made Smarter Review (30th Oct) led by Juergen Maier, CEO of Siemens UK, which the government commissioned. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, along with colleagues across government including the Department for Education and Department for Culture, Media & Sport, are carefully considering the data and recommendations set out in the final report, including those relating to labour market impacts.

Minimum Wage

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Henley on 13 November (HL3127), what preparations they have made to manageany increase in referrals, investigations and prosecutions for national minimum wage non-compliance which may result from their activity to raise awareness and improve compliance with the legislation.

lord henley: We are committed to enforcing the rights of workers. We have therefore increased HMRC’s enforcement budget to a record level of £25.3 million for 2017-2018, up from £13 million in 2015/16.

Service Industries: New Businesses

baroness primarolo: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Henley on 20 November, how many start-up companies founded in 2016 they estimate were service companies.

lord henley: There is no single source of data on all start-ups. Based on new business bank accounts opened, BankSearch estimate that there were over 416,000 start-ups in Great Britain in 2016, covering every region and every sector.The Department does not hold data showing how many of the companies founded in 2016 were service companies.

Overseas Companies

baroness primarolo: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Henley on 10 November (HL2719), what plans they have to review the impact of Brexit on the corporate governance of UK-registered companies operating outside the UK, including through subsidiaries and other connected persons.

lord henley: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is working in close coordination with the Department for Exiting the European Union. We are preparing for potential impacts Brexit may have on the corporate governance of UK-registered companies operating outside the UK, including through subsidiaries and other connected persons.The UK’s Companies Act and related legislation provides a framework for corporate governance, accounting, audit and reporting which is seen as an example of best practice across the world. For example, the Strategic Reporting regulations 2013 led to the EU’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive of 2014.This framework secures sound and transparent financial and non-financial reporting by companies and other corporate entities, reflecting their strategy and governance, in order to help create a positive investment environment in the UK.

Department for Education

Nurses: Training

lord willis of knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK-domiciled students commenced undergraduate nursing degree courses in UK higher education institutions in each of the years 2010–11 to 2016–17.

viscount younger of leckie: The Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) collects data on students enrolled and qualifying from courses at UK Higher Education Institutions, including information on subject of study. The following table contains the numbers of full person equivalent entrants to undergraduate (first degree and other undergraduate) courses in nursing, as defined by the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS). More information on JACS codes can be found at https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/jacs/jacs3-principal.  UK domiciled entrants to undergraduate nursing courses by level of studyUK Higher Education Institutions Academic Years 2010/11 to 2015/16YearFirst degree entrantsOther undergraduate entrantsTotal entrants2010/1121,60553,63575,2402011/1228,59044,42573,0202012/1329,06033,16562,2302013/1430,21033,16563,3802014/1531,78532,96564,7502015/1632,24532,28564,530Source: Department for Education analysis of the HESA student recordCounts rounded to the nearest 5 so may not sum exactly to totalsInformation for 2016/17 will become available in January 2018.

Ministry of Justice

Magistrates' Courts: Newcastle upon Tyne

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 26 September (HL1527), which categories of Newcastle Magistrates court cases will be held in the City; and which, if any, will be heard elsewhere.

lord keen of elie: Listing is a judicial function and responsibility.The categories of cases listed into Newcastle Magistrates’ Court is a matter for the Judicial Business Group for Northumbria. It will take into account the workloads, court and custodial capacity available at the time a decision is required

Marriage

lord lexden: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether theyintend to relax the requirement that couples wishing to have a civil marriage in England and Walesmust be resident in the registration districtfor at least seven days before giving notice of marriage, to enable couples from Northern Ireland, including same-sex couples, to give notice by post or other means.

lord keen of elie: The Law Commission undertook a scoping study to identify options for reform to marriage law and the Government gave this careful consideration. We have concluded that now is not the right time to develop options for such reform. The priority is to identify options for alleviating pressures on the family justice system from a sustained increase in demand. The Government will, however, keep marriage law under review for possible inclusion in future reform work.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reported comments by Sir Ernest Ryder, Senior President of Tribunals, at a Bar Council event on 7 November, concerning the poor quality of evidence brought before the courts by the Department for Work and Pensions in cases related to Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payments.

baroness buscombe: The Department is considering the comments and will also be meeting with Ministry of Justice officials to discuss the concerns raised.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy

lord stoddart of swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their intention that the UK will not remain subject to the Common Agriculture and Fisheries Policy after 29 March 2019.

lord gardiner of kimble: Leaving the EU and building a new partnership with the EU means that we will leave the Common Agricultural and Common Fisheries Policies. As the Prime Minister set out in her Florence speech, we are proposing an implementation period to provide a bridge to our future relationship with the EU, providing certainty for businesses and individuals. The terms of that implementation period are a matter for negotiation.

Home Office

Slavery

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what options they have considered for enforcing corporate compliance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015;and whether they have considered imposing penalties for those companies that do not comply.

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure compliance with the Transparency in Supply Chains requirement of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, in the light of the absence of a publicly-available list of companies that are in scope.

baroness williams of trafford: The legislation was designed to harness pressure from civil society and we are pleased that NGOs are using company statements to scrutinise businesses and hold them to account, including contacting businesses that have not yet published statements. The Government is taking action to improve compliance but we know that new legislation takes time to embed. We recently wrote to over 10,000 businesses that may be required to publish statements reminding them of their obligations and pointing them towards relevant guidance. We have also strengthened the wording in our guidance to set out our expectations for these statements more clearly. The Home Secretary can apply for a court injunction requiring businesses to comply. If they still refuse, they will be liable to an unlimited fine for contempt of court.

Slavery

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made an estimate of the cost of preparing a list of companies covered by section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

baroness williams of trafford: For the time being, we have concluded that demand for a list can be better met by the private sector which holds more comprehensive and easily accessible data. Two independent registries have been set up to monitor companies’ progress in publishing high quality statements. We will continue to work with businesses to ensure that all large companies report properly and take effective action to force these crimes out of their supply chains.

Slavery and Trafficking Reparation Orders

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Slavery and Trafficking Reparation Orders have been made to date; how many compensation awards have been made to victims as a result of those Orders; and what was the(1) total, and (2) average, amount of those awards.

baroness williams of trafford: No slavery and trafficking reparation orders have been made since their introduction under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 coming into force for offences committed after 31st July 2015. They can only be made once someone has been convicted of a relevant offence and the Crown Court has made a confiscation order against them. Modern slavery prosecutions are complex and often take a long time to complete. As the number of concluded prosecutions rise, we expect to see a rise in the number of reparation orders.

Criminal Investigation

lord wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of police investigations in England and Wales have been (1) closed, and (2) written off, within 24 hours of the crime being reported to the police, for the most recent year for which figures are available.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office publishes information on crime outcomes, including the proportion of crimes that are assigned each outcome and how long it took for these outcomes to be assigned.Information on the proportion of outcomes assigned by outcome type can be found in Table 2.2 in the data tables published alongside Crime Outcomes in England and Wales, year ending March 2017, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-outcomes-in-england-and-wales-2016-to-2017Information on how long it has taken for these outcomes to be assigned can be found in Table 5.2 in the same link. This table includes information in the proportion of outcomes that were assigned on the same day as the offence was recorded.We expect the police to investigate all crimes, and investigations can be reopened at any point should new evidence come to light.



Tables 2.2 and 5.2 - Crimes Outcomes Eng-Wales 
(Excel SpreadSheet, 21.76 KB)

Safer Neighbourhood Teams

lord wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Safer Neighbourhood Teams in England and Wales are currently operational.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office does not collect data on the number of Neighbourhood Policing teams that are operational. The Home Office does collect data annually on the function of police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), including the number of full time equivalent police officers and PCSOs primarily employed in Neighbourhood Policing teams and/or Safer Neighbourhood teams. This information can be found in the data tables published alongside the annual ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-walesLatest data as at 31 March 2017 can be found in the Tables F1, F3 F4 and F6 of the police workforce statistics published in July 2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629865/police-workforce-tabs-jul17.odsOfficers and PCSOs with multiple responsibilities or designations are recorded under their primary function. The data do not therefore provide a complete picture of all officers assigned to neighbourhood policing functions.Some forces are not able to make a clear distinction between ‘Neighbourhood Policing’ roles and ‘Incident (Response) Management’ roles, therefore those forces record the majority of, or all, employees under just one function. A more reliable measure is the number of officers employed in ‘Local policing’ roles, which includes both neighbourhood and response functions.Any comparisons at force level should be made with care due to collaboration arrangements between forces for particular functions. Additionally, police functions data are often affected by re-structuring within police forces. Therefore comparisons over time for specific functions should be made with care.Decisions on the size and composition of the police workforce are operational matters for Chief Officers working with their Police and Crime Commissioners and taking into account local priorities.



Tables F1-F3-F4 and F6 - Police Workforce Stats 
(Excel SpreadSheet, 82.6 KB)

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

lord stoddart of swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to publish a document setting out the political and economic benefits to the UK of leaving the EU.

lord callanan: The people voted to leave the EU in a referendum which Parliament voted to hold. A clear majority of the electorate voted to leave the EU and we will respect the will of the British people.Since then the Government has been undertaking rigorous and extensive analysis work to support our exit negotiations, to define our future partnership with the EU, and to inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks.This includes a full suite of economic analysis, as you would expect from a responsible Government. This means looking at 58 sectors as well as cross-cutting regulatory, economic and social issues to help inform our negotiation positions.We have been clear that we recognise Parliament’s rights relating to the publication of documents. However, ministers face conflicting responsibilities - such as a clear obligation not to disclose information when doing so would not be in the public interest. And Parliament has previously voted not to release information that would be prejudicial to our negotiating position.

EU Budget: Contributions

lord elystan-morgan: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in respect of the compensation claimed by the EU on the UK’s leaving, what part of that claim represents (1) the apportionment of benefits accruing in future to the UK, (2) restitution for breach of contract, if any, and in respect of what breach, and (3) damages claimed punitively; and what discount has been offered as being due to the UK in respect of EU assets.

lord callanan: We recognise that the UK has obligations towards the EU, and the EU has obligations to the UK. An agreement on any financial settlement can only come as part of the settlement of all the issues mentioned in the Prime Minister’s Florence Speech. We are making clear progress in building a common technical understanding on every item. The treatment of the European Union’s assets will need to be agreed as part of the negotiations.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade

baroness hayter of kentish town: To ask Her Majesty's Government what meetings have beenheld as part of the comprehensive stakeholder engagement programme being undertaken on future trade relations, as set outin the Department for International Trade’s document, Preparing for our future trade policy.

baroness fairhead: The Department for International Trade’s Ministerial team and officials have engaged widely with business and civil society on our future UK trade policy since the referendum.My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade hosted seminars with stakeholders and in October 2017 held a roundtable with representatives from trade associations including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF). Officials have also organised townhall meetings, roundtable discussions and held bilateral meetings with business and civil society representatives.This department will continue to engage with stakeholders from across the whole of the UK as we develop our policy on future trade relations.